Penn State's $60M fine should stay in Pa.

How do we view punishment? As a corrective device or just for feel-good, primordial revenge?

How do we view punishment? As a corrective device or just for feel-good, primordial revenge?

Penn State and the National Collegiate Athletic Association face that very situation.

The NCAA is a nonprofit group responsible for protecting student-athletes. It handed down unprecedented fines and penalties to Penn State for its culpability in Jerry Sandusky's child molestations. Those included a $60 million fine.

While the issues surrounding the level of penalties have been settled, at least legally, a new one has taken shape: What to do with the $60 million?

A consent decree between the school and the NCAA requires the money be used to fight child sexual abuse and help victims nationally.

The NCAA wants control of that money. Pennsylvania's treasurer and a state senator objected and sued the NCAA to have the money put in a state endowment to benefit child abuse prevention efforts.

The consent decree doesn't specify who controls the money or place any geographic restrictions on its use, according to the judge overseeing the suit.

It only specifies the purposes it must serve.

The NCAA justifies its argument by noting that child abuse is a national problem.

True, but Sandusky hurt children from Pennsylvania. The state, by having to distribute the funds, will have another chance to address the local damage done.

Now, $60 million isn't exactly race track money. But that fine doesn't teach the university a thing. It's a drop in the bucket for a institution that earns millions just from T-shirt sales.

The state bore many of the expenses of the Sandusky investigation and trial. And that's money desperately needed for child welfare services right here.

You don't have to look far to see that.

Monroe County's Children and Youth Agency lost several experienced case workers when the county changed its health insurance policies to save money. Case workers who couldn't afford the changes left. Who loses? Children at need in our own backyard.

So, do we send Penn State to stand in the corner or help make it better?

When my son was young, I'd spank him when he misbehaved. Then one day I realized that while I was trying to teach him not to hit others, I was hitting him. So the spanking stopped.

The NCAA can press its case to control the money. Or it can allow the state to distribute the funds and learn from Penn State's mistakes, so this may never happen again.

Spanking the school might feel good today. But giving us here all a chance to learn from past mistakes gives that money greater reach.

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